It's the Thought That Counts
by Pureauthor
Summary: -Valentine's Day fic- With the Grand Ambassadorial Ball in two weeks, King Ephraim is hard pressed to get everything ready in time for the dignitaries. And lost in the bustle of preparations, is a certain festival that falls on the same weekend... -FxA-
1. Chapter 1

It's The Thought That Counts

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Valentine's Day fic. It's sorta a tradition for me by now that each year I write for a new game… Sacred Stones will not be spared, mehehehehehe… Ahem.

Anyway, enjoy, hopefully, and please review after reading.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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The shout resounded throughout the hallways of Castle Renais, causing General Seth to glance up from his progress towards his quarters. Without missing a beat, he pivoted in midstep, heading towards the throne room from which the yell had originated.

Pushing the doors open, his slightly widened eyes was the only indication that he was surprised at the sight of Innes', Frelia's Prince, sitting on a chair clutching his head. A thin trickle of blood flowed out from between his fingers. Next to him was Tana, recent Queen of Renais, fussing over her elder brother.

Several feet to the left of the wounded prince stood Prince Ephraim, bearing a wooden sword and a sheepish expression on his face.

"Did you have to hit so hard?" The silver-haired prince demanded as he glared daggers at Ephraim. "The point of a sparring match is to improve one's abilities, not to knock your opponent senseless! Is this how you always fight when training with the Obsidia – For Latona's sake, Tana, _stop_ fussing over me! It's a scratch, not a gash. I'll live."

"Sorry, sorry." Ephraim held up his hands in a placating manner. "I know we're supposed to rein ourselves in a bit when we spar, it's just… I was distracted, is all. Besides, if you don't go all out, you'll never know how good you actually are in relation to your foe. Am I right, Seth?" Ephraim turned to face the General.

"I am decidedly neutral on the subject, your Highness." Seth intoned calmly. "Save for the fact that sparring in the throne room is most definitely _not_ kingly behaviour."

Ephraim flushed slightly. "Well, yes, there is that, but… but…" He pointed at Innes. "He started it." The king finished lamely.

"Excellent comeback, Ephraim." The Frelian prince growled. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to point me in the direction of your castle's infirmary, I can deliver what my father's message to you and be on my way."

Seth half-turned to point behind him. "Third right down the hall, past a marble pillar that has a chip in it."

Without another word, Innes slammed a sheathe of letters on the table beside him, then stood and stalked off. Tana followed, only pausing to give Ephraim a helpless look before leaving the throne room herself.

"…" Seth turned back to face his king and liege lord. "Innes…"

"Challenged me to a sword duel." Ephraim shrugged as he tossed his wooden sword onto the aforementioned table. "He still hasn't gotten over losing to me at the last jousting tournament."

"You have a natural affinity for close-quarters combat, just as Prince Innes has an affinity for the bow."

"I know that, you know that, and he probably knows that but simply can't accept it. He wants to be the best at everything." Ephraim grimaced. Then, as if a new thought had struck him, he turned to regard Seth. "So… what is it you wanted to came here for?"

"I heard Prince Innes' cry." Seth sighed tiredly. "Other than that, nothing, I suppose."

Turning to leave, he halted as he heard Ephraim call out to him. "Seth…?"

He halted. "Yes, milord?"

"…No, it's nothing. As you were."

"Understood, milord."

* * *

Once Seth was gone, Ephraim slumped onto the throne and let out a deep, heartfelt sight. Being a king had more than it's fair share of duties and expectations, not the least of which was ensuring dealing with political intrigues.

With Grado's restoration progressing speedily in the wake of the war and the massive earthquake it had suffered, it had somehow surfaced that it was now Renais' turn to host the yearly Grand Ambassadorial Ball. It was also universally agreed that, in wake of what had just transpired over the continent, that this would be one of the more important meetings in sight. Castle Renais could expect to be jam-packed with ambassadors and dignitaries.

Which was unfortunate for Ephraim, a man for whom courtly niceties had never been a strong suit. The prospect of having to spend an entire weekend with people who seemed utterly convinced of their personal superiority over all other living things was quite frankly, insufferable.

That, however, was not the main object of his current concerns. The restoration efforts for both Renais and Grado, coupled with what thieves and rogues had made off with during the war, had just about drained the castle treasuries. Add to that the fact that many good men had been killed during the whole affair, and the castle was barely scraping through each day by the skin of their teeth. The servants and workers that still remained loyal even through Orson's nightmarish reign were stretched to their limits as it were, to say nothing of the knights who seemed to be fighting tooth and nail to reclaim a single inch of monster-infested land. The entire castle was dreadfully undermanned. And now, having to tell all of them that they would have to redouble their efforts in light of the upcoming meet certainly did not make for a pleasant proposition.

The trouble with this was that the nobles simply hadn't the faintest _idea_ what war was truly like. They simply thought it as simple as sending off soldiers to some obscure, hard-to-pronounce location to duke it out, and the army that had the most knights still standing would be declared the winner. The truth of how any war would invariably wreck the country's economy, the suffering the common folk had to endure, to say nothing of the blood and dust and grit and thirst of the battlefield itself, were all simply lost in those who wrapped themselves in the protective blanket of their manors and parties and titles.

So naturally they would expect conditions of the ball to be up to the standards of all those hosted in happier times, when funds and staffing were plentiful. Any reasons given for unmet expectations would be received with a cordial 'I see' and 'of course', while behind his backs they would be already judging the new king to be an incompetent.

Not that he much cared for their political bear-baiting and thimble-rigging, but Seth, who knew far more of courtly proceedings than he did, had warned him that how he was assessed as a king by the nobles and dignitaries would be pivotal to the future success of the nation – after all, they were the only ones left who had anything in the way of a decent amount of funds. Where those funds would flow would depend greatly on their image of the king, and in turn it would depend on functions and events in which he was supposed to run the show. Much as he hated to admit it, the living conditions for the common folk would depend greatly on the lords.

"How on Magvel did father ever deal with this sort of thing?" He mumbled to himself.

So engrossed was he in his reflecting that he failed to notice soft footfalls coming up to him. "Ephraim?" His sister's gentle voice floated up.

"Hm?" He gazed up into her worried eyes. "What is it, sister?"

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing… just thinking."

"About the Ball?"

"What else?"

Eirika frowned. "I know you aren't going to enjoy entertaining those nobles at all. Why don't you let me handle them? We could tell them you're off fighting the monsters or something."

Ephraim snorted. "Yes, and have them think I'm a foolish, irresponsible romantic out only for adventure." He sighed again and shook his head. "I never had to worry about how people would view me when I was Prince. But now that I'm king… I can't even host a party without every lord on the continent scrutinizing my every move. You should have been Queen in my stead, Eirika. I can't deal with this."

"And what makes you think I could deal with it any better than you? These few months after the war, you've been great. Leading with a firm yet gentle hand. The people aren't exactly comfortable yet, true, but they trust that you'll be able to pull them out of this." She paused a moment before a light smile graced her delicate face. "Besides, you know the rules. Firstborn _son_ rules the kingdom."

"Yes, yes…" Ephraim held up a hand. "The peasant's needs are the whole reason I'm worried right now. How receptive the nobles are going to be to my requests are all going to hinge on this Ball."

"… I get it. You're worried about the ambience and preparations not being up to par."

Ephraim was silent for a long minute, as the faint threads of a plan began to come together in his mind. Although it probably wasn't going to endear himself to the castle staff, it _would_ go a great deal farther to getting their preparations ready in time.

"Eirika?"

"Yes, brother?"

"Would you mind sending a message for all available members of the castle staff to assemble in the throne room? And makes sure the advisors and whatnot get no hint of this. I don't need their input, I _know_ it'll be negative. Okay?"

"…Alright. But wh-?"

"You'll see soon enough." Ephraim let out a wan smile. "Just go, okay?"

* * *

Ephraim gazed over the sea of faces standing before him. Some looked bored, some confused, some downright apprehensive, as if knew what was coming next.

"Alright, everyone, I have an announcement to make." He started, ending the murmuring across the hall. "I'm sure that by now most of you would have realized we're the hosts for this year's Grand Ambassadorial Ball. I'm equally certain that most of you would have realized we're already stretched to the limit as is in terms of just keeping the country up and running."

He gazed around the crowd, seeing confusion melt away as the brighter ones were already figuring out what he would ask of them. Everything in those people's faces were begging him not to say what they already knew.

Ephraim could sympathize. Most of them had dealt with the increased strain and responsibilities extremely well, but now… Nevertheless, duty was duty.

"I'm terribly sorry." He continued. "But I must ask that all those already involved in preparations to double their efforts. As for those not directly involved with the process, such as the knights of Renais, I have to ask that you to switch duties for a time of two weeks. I will be frank – we need all available help we can get."

More and more faces were becoming resigned, Ephraim noted. Not unexpected, but certainly unpleasant.

"I expect, and demand, that _all_ of you, from the knight commanders down to the pageboys, take part in this. And yes, this includes Eirika and me. This is the only way we're going to be ready by the time the Ball comes round."

Pointing towards chart set up to his right, he continued his announcement. "I've created a schedule such that the knights will still be able to maintain a fairly regular patrol around the castle and the surrounding area. Of course, this means that more time is going to be demanded of you…"

Silence. Complete, utter, silence. He was certain he detected a couple homicidal glares his way. This continued for several minutes.

"…Right. Dismissed. Your new duties and tasks will be assigned to you before tonight." Ephraim blurted out, as glad as the rest of them that this conversation was over.

As the last of the castle servants filed from the room, Ephraim slumped back onto his throne, and let what had to be the mother of all sighs escape his lips. A minute later, his lowered vision caught three pairs of boots heading his way. Two of them were armoured.

Glancing up, he looked wearily at the trio that had come to talk to him. "Yes?" He asked.

His sister spoke first. "Ephraim… are you sure about this? It's going to put a massive strain on all them, the soldiers especially. And you, you're going to collapse under the stress soon if you don't do something."

Ephraim managed a comforting smile. "It's just two weeks, Eirika. After that we can all rest for a bit. Yes, General?"

"…While I personally have no qualms about devoting more of my time to the preparations for the Ball, I have to request information as to how we're possibly going to be able to keep a patrol on both the country while we're working at the same time – to say nothing of the physical exhaustion for the less… robust knights."

"Well, yes, that's one reason I wanted to talk to you. Could you send out runners to the trainers for the recruits? Tell them to bring all the trainees and greenhorns back to the castle."

"You're going to interrupt their training?"

"Only for two blasted weeks, General, and if they insist on kicking up a big fuss over it, tell them we'll compensate them for the lost time."

"King Ephraim, you must keep a check on your emotions…"

"Yes, of course." He slumped back onto his throne once more and closed his eyes. "I liked it a lot better when all of my problems could be solved by stabbing it with a lance." He mumbled. Then, as if remembering he had a third person requesting an audience, he turned. "Yes, Forde?"

The red-haired knight let out a wan smile. "We're entertaining dignitaries from all over Magvel, right?"

"…Right."

"They'll be sure to see what kind of king you look to be, correct?"

"…Yes."

"We need to be on our best behaviour?"

"Yes, so that means no getting drunk and throwing up over Kyle like at the celebration party when we defeated the Demon King."

"Yes… um, has he mentioned that incident to you recently?"

"Personally, I'd steer clear of him for a few more days. But you didn't come here to ask me that, did you."

"Well, no. I was wondering if you could use some paintings."

"Paintings."

"Yep. You already know I paint as a hobby, and I figured I could, y'know, frame a couple of them over the parts of the walls that suffered damages during the wall. Cover it up a bit, and add to the atmosphere."

"You'd be willing?"

"I offered."

"In _addition_ to the other duties I'm going to assign to you?"

"… Yeah, see, I was hoping to talk to you about that. Say, about fifty percent of the workload as compared to other knights…"

Ephraim's eyes narrowed. "Nice try, Forde."

"Drat."

Ephraim shook his head, then swung his legs forward, and used the momentum to pull himself into a standing position. "Elsewhile, I'm pretty sure we're going to have a _fine_ time planning who does what. Eirika, Seth, would you help me? You understand the temperament of some of the staff better than I do…"

"Of course, brother."

"I'll help in any way I am able."

Discussing slowly, the three of them left the room, leaving Forde to shrug and head over to study the chart on the wall.

* * *

Alright, this is going to be a three-part story, with the final chapter hopefully posted on Valentine's Day.

Thank you for reading, please review.


	2. Chapter 2

It's the Thought That Counts

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"Oh, _there_ you are!"

At this exclamation, Franz glanced up momentarily from his work, breaking into a wide smile as he caught sight of Amelia. "You're back!"

After the quake at Grado, Amelia had immediately sent in a request to King Ephraim to allow her to travel to Grado to visit and ascertain the well-being of her mother. It was something that King Ephraim could not, in good faith, turn down, and thus Amelia had spent the better part of the last month visiting her mother and catching up. She had written Franz after a week or so to inform him that she had found her mother and was staying there to look after her for a while. He had heard nothing of her after that.

And now here she was, smiling at him. "How's your mother?" He asked as he wiped the sweat off his face.

"She's just fine… she wants to come visit Renais soon, but I convinced her to wait a couple of weeks until that ambassador thing was over." Then she paused and gave him a long look. "Franz, why are you covered in soot?"

This remark caused Franz to glance down at the visible parts of his body, over half of which was black. "Just helping with transportation of coal for the ballroom fires." He shrugged.

The remark was met with a frown. "I don't recall doing labour being part of the knightly vow that I took. Or is this just something about difference in gender and age?"

"You're the same age as me, remember?" Franz said with a gentle smile. "Anyway, you weren't here two days ago, when the King gave the announcement."

"Well, she's here now." Came a new voice from behind them. Franz turned, and instinctively saluted. Amelia did likewise as soon as she caught sight of who it was addressing them.

General Seth acknowledged this with a nod, then turned to the young girl. "Amelia, if you'll follow me, I can inform you of the current situation, and assign you your current duties. Or do you need a while to rest and refresh yourself?"

"Oh, no, sir." Amelia shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Alright then, come with me…"

The two of them disappeared down the corridor. Franz looked down the corridor they had disappeared down in, then returned to his work.

* * *

Ephraim glanced down at the sheets and lists before him, mentally sifting the items and categories into more manageable piles. Occasionally, he would take a piece of paper, crumple it up, and discard it into a growing pile beside him.

The door to his study scraped open, and Tana walked in. "Ephraim? The lumber you've ordered from the Frelian mountains have arrived."

"Thanks, honey." He said distractedly. "Could you go… um, send them to the chapel area? That's where they're needed." That said, he returned his full attention to the papers before him, scribbling a few lines here and there.

Tana watched him a few moments before shaking her head and softly closing the door behind her.

* * *

"What do you think? The blue or the red?" Eirika pondered as her gaze wandered over the two tapestries before her.

Forde glanced up from where he was carefully chiseling a cracked brick out from the wall of the main ballroom. Brushing a loose strand of hair from his eyes, he wandered over, looking over the Princess' shoulder.

"Blue." He finally said. "Definitely blue."

Eirika half-turned to face him, and raised an eyebrow. "Not that I disagree with your opinion on this… but why?"

"Simple. Blue provides a more soothing colour. Assuming you place the tapestries here, here, and… here." He said, pointing to indicate the spots. "The overall mood during the ball will be calmer, which works well when trying to discuss peace settlements. Red, even dark, rich red like that-" He gestured towards the maroon design. "Has a tendency to encourage aggressive feelings."

A half-smile was tugging at the corners of Eirika's mouth. "Hard to believe someone like you would know so much about these things."

"Comes with the hobby, milady."

"You know, maybe you should resign your commission and become the castle painter."

"Don't even joke about that." Forde snorted. "I paint when I want to relax, not because I'm paid to do so."

* * *

"Hoo, this is a big one." Seymour gestured towards a massive gaping hole in the wall behind him. A mason by trade, he had been more than willing to lend his services to Renais should it prove necessary, and quite apparently, it had.

The General stood silently besides him, lip pursed. Then he asked. "Has the requisition from the quarries arrived yet?"

"Supposed to be here before the midday meal, General." Seymour scratched his forehead. "It's gonna be a real tight schedule to patch up all these holes by next Friday, though, no matter how you slice it."

"Just do your best. We've already indicated which ones are the most important. Work in that order, and assuming we don't get to complete it, we can steer the guests away from the areas that have yet to be repaired."

Seymour nodded, and signaled his workers to get ready the materials and begin work. Then, turning back to the General, he paused for a second, then shook his head. "Now, general, I'm just a common workman, and I dunno a lot about running an army and all that, but Lord alive, you've got to get yourself some rest, man. You look like death warmed over."

The General nodded, and managed to stifle a yawn. "Thank you for your concern. I'll rest when I get the time. Elsewhile, just do what you were paid for, alright?"

Seymour doffed his cap, and turned back to his work.

* * *

"Cleaning duties." Amelia mumbled. "Takes me back to when I was in Silva."

"Bet your homes were nowhere as big as these." Franz replied offhandedly as scrubbed hard at the castle walls. "Hand me a bucket, would you?"

It was now night on the fourth day since King Ephraim had made the announcement. Most of the castle staff were holding their own against the seemingly endless deluge of chores well enough, although Franz had seen several of the less hardy knights seemingly transform into what appeared to be revenants with healthier skin.

As he continued to clean, his thoughts traveled to General Seth. He and Ephraim were literally exhausting themselves, trying to stay on top of everything. Queen Tana and Princess Eirika were worried about the both of them, Eirika moreso, since she was concerned for the both of them. Or at least that was what the rumours said.

Ordinarily, Franz would have dismissed the notion outright. General Seth had always struck him as someone who sought to preserve the status quo, and traditionally, knights _never_ got romantically involved with the lords (or ladies) they served. But, as his elder brother was fond of reminding him, clawing your way out when you fell in love never worked. He couldn't deny there was _something_ going on in between the General and the Princess…

And speaking of romantic involvement… Franz took a furtive glance at Amelia, who was currently humming an indistinct tune to herself as she continued her work. Amelia was truly a great friend and comrade-in-arms, but… was there something _more_ between them?

He had thought so once. During the War of the Stones and immediately after, he believed that there had been, well, _something_ between them. And who knows? Maybe there had. But duty and responsibility had led them apart for long stretches of time, and they had gradually drifted. They still remained close friends, but…

Franz wasn't sure if what he felt for Amelia right now was truly 'love'. Forde had defined being in love as 'essentially the same as having a complete mental breakdown, only not as painful', and _that_ certainly hadn't occurred to either one of them. Besides, Franz wasn't sure he could trust his brother's word on a subject like this. Forde had never, to the best of his knowledge, been in love – although he _had_ been keeping up a steady correspondence with that Frelian Pegasus Knight – Vanessa, wasn't it? – recently.

Always a strong believer in the 'if you don't understand, then _ask_' method in life, Franz wouldn't have hesitated to go to older, wiser people whom he could talk to. However, seemingly the wisest of them that he was on a half-informal level with was also struggling with love issues of his own. He just didn't think General Seth was going to be much help here.

Which pretty much left him floundering and on his own as far as this whole 'love' issue was concerned.

Idly picking at a stain that refused to come out, Franz closed his eyes, thinking. If he remembered his dates correctly, Valentine's Day would be coming up soon. Maybe that would be a good opportunity to figure out a bit more of this whole affair. Now, when exactly would it-

Of course. The same Sunday as the last and most important day of the Grand Ambassadorial Ball. The day his services would be most demanded. Franz let out a tired groan.

"Franz? What is it? Are you okay?" Amelia turned to him, a concerned look in her eyes.

"I'll be fine. Just… tired." Franz lied. This effect was made more convincing by the event of him yawning right as he finished.

"We're all tired, soldier." Ephraim rounded the corridor, and even in the dim candlelight, Franz could see the bags under the King's eyes. "Franz, Amelia, you two are off duty for tonight. Go and get some rest. You've earned it."

Amelia nodded, opened her mouth to say something to Ephraim, then seemingly thought better of it and merely saluted. Franz did likewise, and soon the two of them were well on their way to their respective quarters.

"Goodnight, Franz." Amelia smiled. Franz smiled in return, despite his troubled thoughts.

"Goodnight, Amelia."

* * *

Once alone in his quarters, Franz quickly undressed. Stripping off his work shirt, he gave it a cursory sniff to ensure that the smell wouldn't cause dead faints, and tossed it into a growing pile of dirty clothes. With most of the castle help actively engaged in sprucing up the castle, 'secondary' duties were rapidly slipping being forgotten. Oh well. He supposed he could last two weeks.

After shrugging into a relatively clean shirt, Franz walked over to his wardrobe. Pushing aside several other objects, he finally pulled out a bulging pouch.

Sitting down, he tipped over the bag, releasing its contents onto his desk. As he counted the amount, he pondered over what he could possibly buy for Amelia that would properly express the current situation. He'd heard Forde describe this sort of thing before – "Firm but not domineering, malleable yet not soft, does not shun the idea of close bonds."

Of course, he had been speaking about purchasing a new warhorse at that time, but the analogy still probably applied.

_What would express the fact that I want to understand our relationship better, and yet not appear too forward at the same time?_ Closing his eyes, Franz let out a long breath of air. _A ring would definitely be too forward, flowers would appear too generic…_ He'd once heard that chocolates were the surest way to a girl's heart, but Amelia apparently wasn't too fond of them. Pity, really. He knew a nearby village that made splendid confectionery…

Whapping himself on the head to get himself to refocus, Franz sat there in the semidarkness, pondering.

* * *

Amelia hummed to herself as she continued down the dark hallway. Despite the new, 'improved' schedule, it wasn't anything she was really unused to. Most of the time in the Grado army had been spent as low man (or woman, as it were) on the totem pole, so being part of any army that treated you nicely was a definite bonus in her book.

About to round the corner, she was brought short by a furtive whisper. Raising an eyebrow, she crept closer, trying to listen in without being noticed.

"Have you got it?" Came the first voice, decidedly feminine.

"Yes." Said the second voice, probably a young male. "I'm ready."

She heard what appeared to be a stifled sigh. "I just hope I'm doing the right thing…"

"It's for his own good, Princess."

Princess? Shrugging, Amelia walked around the corner, to face Princess Eirika and Artur. The Princess's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but as Amelia saluted, she calmed down. "At ease, Amelia."

Amelia nodded, then glanced around. "Have I… interrupted anything?" She asked. Curiosity was a trait she had never been able to shake off.

Eirika sighed. "No… just a midnight planning session on how to send General Seth to sleep."

It was then that she noticed Artur was currently clutching a Sleep staff. Amelia blinked at the thought, then frowned. "But… isn't that violating his rights or something?"

Eirika nodded tiredly. "I know. But look at him, Amelia. He's running himself ragged, even moreso than my brother. He's devoted, and I admire that, but I'm not about to lose the General to a nervous breakdown." Amelia noticed a distant look in the Princess's eyes, and wisely decided to nod. Lady Eirika's concern and affection for the Silver Knight was a well-known and oft-discussed issue among the rank and file.

Artur coughed hesitantly. "If I recall, General Seth was last seen in the vicinity of the ballroom. If we hurry, we might find him there."

"Right." Eirika hurried along a couple of steps, then turned and pointed at Amelia. "You saw nothing. That's an order."

"Yes, ma'am." Amelia replied, trying unsuccessfully to rein in a smile.

As the footfalls of Eirika and Artur faded into the moonlit night, Amelia continued her journey back to her quarters. It had been a logistical decision to separate the sleeping areas of men and women unless married, and thus depending on where one worked, it could take a while to get back to the relative comfort of your room.

Amelia almost walked by Tana without noticing her. The Queen of Renais had been sitting perfectly still on a bench, gazing at the moonlight with a melancholic expression on her face. When Amelia noticed her, she bowed in greeting. "Queen Tana." She said respectfully.

The Queen made no reply for a while. Then, sighing, she nodded her acknowledgement. "Dame Amelia."

Had it been someone else, Amelia might have ventured on to ask her what was wrong, but social barriers still remained intact for her. She wasn't very familiar with the Queen of Renais, which contributed somewhat to the awkwardness of the situation.

Finally, Amelia broke the silence. "Can I help you?" She asked.

The Queen appeared not to have heard her for a moment. Then she sighed. "Ephraim… Ever since preparations for this Ball started, I've barely seen anything of him."

Amelia groaned mentally. This stupid Ball seemed to be rotting away the entire castle at the seams. "I'm, ah, I'm sure it must be because the Ball is an extremely important… um, event, right?" She offered as she winced inwardly at her fumbling words.

"Bother politics." Tana continued on as if she hadn't heard. "Bother all this playacting and dressup. We've already had a wretched war that's devastated the continent – why can't people stop playing 'I'm King of the Mountain'?"

There was another pause. Then, "Ephraim hates this as much as I do. I can see it. But obligations and duties and all that prevent him from doing anything. Ugh!"

Amelia was getting the distinct feeling she wasn't needed here. With a 'By your leave', (which Tana didn't even appear to have noticed) she fairly jogged off.

* * *

The deed was done. Eirika, Artur, and several dumbfounded soldiers gathered around the snoring body of their General.

"That was easier than I thought it'd be." Eirika ventured.

"Lack of rest lowers magical resistance as well as it'd lower your self-defense capabilities." Artur stated.

They stood there for several seconds. Then, Eirika scratched her head and ventured a question to the nearby soldiers.

"So… who'd be willing to move him to his room for the offer of an extra twenty gold in their pocket?"

* * *

_What's love about, really?_ Amelia wondered as she stared at the ceiling from the bed.

People seemed to get caught up in it almost without knowing it, and often without resistance. Complicated as all that was, with all the heartaches and headaches associated with the phenomenon, people still spoke glowingly about it.

Rolling over on her bed, she sighed as she recalled an earlier conversation with Neimi, back during the war.

"_Is there anyone you like?"_

Amelia had avoided the question for as long as possible, but it had come out. She did have, well… _feelings_ for someone, even though she'd never told him. Every time the subject came up, whether with herself or Neimi, she'd feel her face go hot and her courage fade.

She wondered if Franz ever felt the same way about her. They'd shared a definite bond on the battlefield, but after the wall, with the strain of rebuilding… things had cooled down a bit.

She missed those days, somewhat. Not the fighting itself – that was a memory she wanted to relegate forever to the waste dumps of her consciousness. The closeness shared… they'd almost acted as a single mind on the battlefield, constantly looking out for each other's back.

"_Let me be your shield… so I can protect you."_

"_And I'll be your sword and fight for you." He had replied, smiling that gentle smile that always made her heart melt whenever she saw it._

Her one moment of freedom, where she had ran into his arms, the instant when she had come closest to telling him how she felt… She fell asleep, a smile on her face as she dreamed of a day when she would feels his arms around her again.

* * *

Next day…

Sunlight poured into the room from the window of the castle quarters. All was silent save for the sound of deep, regular breathing.

Seth sat up slowly, trying to shake the fog of semi-consciousness from his mind. He was slipping. Ordinarily, once he awoke, he was supposed to be fully awake and alert, a byproduct of the many years of training.

Still, he appeared to have a hard time snapping out of this one. Shaking his head slightly, he was almost to the door he recalled what had happened to him last night.

Someone had cast a Sleep spell on him! An ambush! And it was already morning? They could have overrun the castle by now-

Grabbing his sword which lay by the bedside, he was about to push open the door when it swung open of it's own accord.

Eirika stared at him, a wry smile on her face. "Glad you're up. I would've gotten the cooks to bring you breakfast, but they're otherwise occupied with scraping gunk out from the kitchen, so…" She held up a tray containing food.

Seth was understandably preoccupied with other matters. "Lady Eirika, did you see any sign of intruders last night?"

"Intruders?"

"Yes. Last night I was ambushed by someone who apparently had the ability to wield staves. He put me to sleep. Have you checked on the safety of your brother? Have the knights-"

"Seth." Eirika put up a placating hand. "That was me. Well, Artur, actually, but it was my idea."

"…" Seth wasn't exactly sure how he felt right now, and so he said nothing.

Eirika didn't look directly at his face. "I knew you weren't going to like it. But I hope you understand that I did it only because you were going to wear yourself out otherwise. No, don't say anything. I know you're mad. Just eat your breakfast, give yourself time to cool down, and go to work."

She turned and headed towards the door, then paused. "And Seth? … Please don't make me have to do this again."

Then she was gone.

* * *

Franz was already tapping his foot impatiently as he watched the morning sun attempt to dispel the fog around the castle gates. Ordinarily meant to be flanked by four or more soldiers throughout the entire day, it had been reduced to a single guard fighting to stay awake while the others remained inside, polishing and weaving and replacing and restoring.

His sword swung lightly in its scabbard as he turned yet again to stare into the fog. Monster packs still roamed the lands, and although they'd never been anywhere near as bold (or organized) as during the days of the war, a few errant fiends could usually be counted on to pop up unexpectedly now and again. It was the foolish traveler that traveled alone and without a sturdy weapon.

Finally, the sound of fast footsteps on the soil could be heard, and out of the mist burst Colm, obviously out of breath. "Sorry." He apologized before Franz could say anything. "Had a run-in with a Tarvos."

"You okay then?"

"You kidding? That thing couldn't have touched me if I were asleep." Colm shrugged in a complacent manner.

"…How's Neimi?" Franz asked. The adventurous rogue had settled down with his childhood friend in a nearby village recently, and from what Franz had heard, Colm was now doing his best to walk the straight and narrow.

"She's fine. She told me to tell you to tell Amelia to come visit sometime."

"Maybe when things calm down a bit. We'll make a day of it, huh?" Franz said with a lighthearted chuckle.

"Mm. Anyway, you sent me a midnight courier, so I'm assuming what you're hear to tell me is a rather pressing subject for you?"

"Well, yes. Look, Valentine's Day is coming up-"

"And you want to get Amelia a good present?"

"How did you-" Franz began, but caught himself. "Nevermind. You're right. Look, I already know what it is I want for her, but… with the schedule as tight as it is right now, I can't be leaving the castle."

"And you want me to go pick up the present for you."

"Yeah. You're the closest person I know that isn't under the direct employ of the castle. Can you help?"

"Perhaps one might care to remind you of this?" Colm said conversationally as he held up his left forearm. A thin scar ran from the wrist to the elbow.

"Oh, come _on_. You did steal the princess's bracelet. How was I supposed to know you were Neimi's friend at that time?"

"Kidding, kidding." Colm grinned. "Be glad to pick it up. So… what is it?"

"Here." Franz rummaged in his satchel a moment, then pulled out a drawing. "The blacksmith there works custom designs. Here's a list of specifications. You can read, right?"

"Yeah, good enough." Then Colm's eyebrows raised as he caught sight of the location of the blacksmith. "Um… that's… a pretty far distance, you know."

"Yeah. You want to borrow Neige? She's gentle enough that she won't really mind who rides her…"

"No. There's a convoy heading that general direction later today. If I hurry I'll make it. But I hope you understand the meaning of compensation."

Franz sighed and handed Colm a pouch. "It'll be more than enough to pay for the item itself. The rest is yours to keep."

"Gotcha." Colm smirked at Franz. "Take care of yourself and Amelia. I'll be back by next Saturday latest. Seeya."

"Yeah… see you later."

* * *

"Lord Ephraim?"

The King of Renais glanced up from the detailed plans of the courtyard and ballroom. "Ah, Kyle. What is it?"

The green haired cavalier held up a stack of papers. "These are the requisition forms for the extra materials needed. We need you to sign them."

"Alright." Ephraim sighed wearily. Indicating the fast-shrinking empty space on his desk, he continued. "Put them there. I'll return them to you before the lunch break."

Kyle placed the files on the indicated spot, before he turned hesitantly to Ephraim. "My Lord?"

"… Yes?" Ephraim asked.

"…It will be of no good if the preparations are complete but you fall prey to disease or exhaustion when the Ball comes around. I beseech you, get some rest as soon as you can."

"…Understood." The King replied curtly. "Dismissed."

Kyle lingered for a second longer, before bowing and leaving the room.

* * *

Ten days of nonstop activity later…

"I'm proud of you all." Ephraim announced, a wide, reassuring smile on his face as he faced the crowd again. Same people, same general formation, but the mood was entirely different. It was almost festive this time round. "It was an impossible task, but all of us working together accomplished it anyway."

One only need walk around the castle now to spot the difference. The walls that were once scorched black with elder magic now gleamed with bright marble. Holes and scars wrought by axe-blows had been patched up. Bright, fresh tapestries fluttered in the morning breeze. The supplies had been delivered. Everything was as ready as it would ever be for tomorrow's guests.

Looking around as the exhausted but jubilant faces, Ephraim raised his voice to almost a shout. "I declare this day to be an unscheduled holiday! Make free, rest up, do whatever you wish to your heart's desire." He was shouting now, over the tumultuous roar of cheers.

"With the exception of these people needed to maintain a skeleton crew-" He indicated a list of names hanging by the wall. "These people will be able to take the day off during the Ball. Now, all of you, dismissed!"

There were several war whoops and general sounds of merriment as the crowd as they went to ascertain their names weren't on the stay-back list before they filed out of the throne room. Meanwhile, Ephraim settled onto his throne, the smile still firmly etched on his face.

"It was exhausting, wasn't it, Eirika?" He turned to ask his sister as she approached him.

"Yes, it was." She replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "It was worth it, though. Even the stuck-ups are going to be impressed with what you did to the castle."

"What _we_ did." He corrected. "What we all did."

"Mm."

"…How are things with you and the General?"

"No better, no worse. He's still cordial to me, Ephraim, but I don't think he's ready to forgive me just yet."

"I can't be too sure I'd have endorsed that plan too, Eirika. It _was_ rather demeaning."

"I know, but… Look, you don't need to be a physician to figure out he was ready to collapse. I know Seth – if I'd ordered him to rest he'd fake it until he was sure I was gone, then return to work."

"Nice to see you worry so much for him. Eirika, do you ever plan on telling him how you feel?"

"Brother!"

"…The General feels doubly betrayed, sister, because he trusted you. I know Seth well – he may not feel it appropriate for there to be love between a knight and his lady, and so he will avoid it, but there isn't a man alive who can control his feelings. You've hurt him, I'm sorry to say."

"…I thought I was doing the right thing…"

"…Maybe you were, sister. But now's not the time for that." He winked at her. "Let's start figuring out how to patch things up between up between you and Seth."

Eirika raised an eyebrow as a wry smile appeared on her face. "And let's figure out how to patch things up between you and Tana. Your marriage has been rocky ever since this affair with the Ball began."

Ephraim smirked in return. "Deal." He extended his arm, palm upwards, towards his sister, who grabbed it, and shook once.

"Let's go."

* * *

"Looks like I'm drawing duty today." Franz said with a resigned sigh. Beside him, Amelia thumped him on the shoulder.

"Well, _you_ get to take the day off while the rest of us play escort to a bunch of snobbish nobles. I'd say you're getting the better end of the deal." She said in an effort to cheer him up.

Franz let out a weak smile. "Thanks. I would've preferred we both got the same days off, though. We could have visited the city or something together."

Amelia grinned, while inside she was trying her level best to shake off any implications that might have been behind that statement. "Maybe when everything's calmed down." She said lightly.

"Yeah… Well, I've been assigned to the East Tower, so I guess I'd better be off. Have a great day, Amelia." He said over his shoulder as he turned to walk off.

"Thanks!" She called after him. Then, turning, she left too, heading for the castle gates.

* * *

The next day…

The sun rose bright and early, piercing the morning veil of mist easily. Forde yawned sleepily and scratched his hair as he arose from slumber just in time to catch the golden dawn.

Right. Today was the first day of the weekend-long Grand Ambassadorial Ball. He would be part of the guard of honour.

Sighing, he found a reflective surface and did his best to make his hair look presentable. Buckling on his armour, he grabbed his sword from it's usual point by the bed, sheathing it with a careless precision borne of years of experience.

He could already hear the heralder calling for all knights to gather in the courtyard from his window. A half smile on his face, he swung the door open and exited his room.

The day stretched forward before them.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please review. 


	3. Chapter 3

It's the Thought That Counts

* * *

Well, this is the last chapter of the story. It's been short, but fun.

Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Seth stood at attention, ramrod straight, as the last of the knights entered the courtyard. Quickly finding their brigade, they got into formation, expecting King Ephraim to address them that morn.

So it was to some general surprise that Eirika stood up onto the makeshift stage.

"The King is dealing with some personal issues currently." Eirika explained. "Thus I'll be informing you of the weekend's itinerary. Those of you that are afraid you won't be able to remember all of it, don't worry – I've already asked the scribes to make several copies of the schedule. Those of you who don't think you can remember, and know you can't read, ask a friend to help you."

"Right. As knights, your primary duty throughout this affair will be escort and guard duties. The majority of you will be assigned to specific locations covering the castle throughout these three days. A lucky few –" Even Eirika couldn't hide her wry humour at this remark. "Will be assigned instead to individual persons, and their wellbeing and comfort will be your responsibility. Any questions so far?"

Seeing that there were none, she half-nodded and continued. "Now, according to schedule, the first of the guests should be arriving at late afternoon…"

As she continued, Seth mentally tuned her out. He'd been to enough of these functions to know he'd already heard all the important information. More troubling and demanding thoughts awaited his perusal.

He was still – to use Forde's term – miffed at what the Princess had done to him. He just couldn't shake the feeling that the Princess –by doing that – had demonstrated she wasn't prepared to trust his ability to take care of himself.

Trying to properly assimilate his feelings into manageable proportions, the General conceded part of it had to do with the fact that it was just _humiliating_. Never mind the fact that he had been sent to sleep – he'd been seen by a fair number of soldiers when that had happened. None of them seemed to think any less of him these past few days, but he knew from experience that rumours flowed among the grapevine quickly.

But a deeper part of his hurt was simply that the Princess had violated his trust. He expelled air in a long, silent sigh.

_A cruel dilemma, eh?_ An unseen voice mocked. _You as a knight know it is her duty not to show favouritism to anyone of her servants. And yet you now feel indignant, as if you were above such treatment. My, my…_

'Could not such attention to me be construed as inordinate amounts of attention on her part?' He asked himself in an effort to shake off the voices.

_Of course it could. But you and I both know that's not how you see it. You and I both know that you were unhappy that she should demean you in such a manner._ It continued to taunt him.

_Of course, a lot of this could be rectified if you'd only admit your feelings for her…_

'No!' Seth banished those thoughts as quickly as they appeared. 'I am a sworn knight of Renais. Such things are forbidden.'

_Right. Of course it is. That's why you feel them anyway, right? Brave, courageous, Seth? Silver Knight of Renais? Ever so loyal to the throne, and yet he can't control his desire for the Princess? Hypocrite. Those times you allowed yourself to imagine her in your embrace, knowing full well it could never be? What happened to your standards?_

Seth swallowed hard, then returned his attention to the princess as she finished her announcement, doing his best to drown the voice out.

"Those of you who have been assigned as the honour guard for the opening ceremony, a rehearsal is scheduled just after the midday meal. The rest of you, look to your appearance. Polish anything that isn't shiny, hammer out any dents, and assemble again at the fourth watch. That is all. Dismissed."

Seth joined the mass of knights as they fairly squeezed their way out of the castle, letting thoughts of the day ahead crowd out the unease and wandering thoughts from his mind.

* * *

"Brother?" Eirika called as she pushed open the door to his and Tana's private chambers.

Ephraim glanced up, nodded, and handed a sheet of paper to Eirika. "Take a look at this."

Eirika raised an eyebrow as she quickly scanned the contents. It was a request form from…

"Franz?"

"The off-duty day for people working yesterday was supposed to be tomorrow, Saturday. Apparently he's requested that his day off be switched to Sunday instead."

"But that's the most important day of the Ball!" Eirika frowned as she continued reading. The message itself was written in a rather messy scrawl, typical of Franz's handwriting, but the wording on it was precise and courteous. "Funny, I never pegged him as the kind who'd shirk his duties."

"Neither did I. Read the lower half of his request, and you'll understand as well."

Eirika continued, eyes finally widening as she came to a rather more specific part of his request. "He wants the day off for Amelia as well?"

"Mm." Ephraim nodded. "Apparently it has something to do with Valentine's Day."

"Valentine's Day?" Eirika was silent for a second as she mentally counted off the dates. "Oh! It _is_ on Sunday!"

"We lost sight of it in the middle of preparations, I don't doubt." Ephraim said with a melancholic smile.

"… So, his request?"

"I'll have to think about it. Meanwhile, we probably have things to do, don't we?"

"Yes, we do. Master Frederick's already helped us map the best route we should take to bring the guests to the ballroom…"

* * *

"You're here early, Prince Innes."

"I came to avoid the rush." The silver-haired prince said brusquely. "One of the few things Ephraim and I can agree on is that all this foppish acts put on by the nobles are quite frankly intolerable."

"Mm." Kyle bowed slightly, the standard knight gesture for 'Whatever you say, milord.'.

"…Where's Tana?" The Prince asked.

"She should be in the ballroom, Prince In-" The Frelian Lord had already stalked off, mumbling to himself.

Kyle looled down the hallway. "…"

"Sir Kyle?"

He glanced back up. "Ah, Dame Vanessa. It is good to see you again."

The sky rider nodded and allowed the barest of smiles to grace her features. "Sir Kyle, would you know where Sir Forde is right now?"

"… I believe he's getting ready for a rehearsal as the guard of honour, Lady Vanessa." Kyle said. "You should be able to find him in the courtyard in about an hour's time."

"I see. Thank you." She turned to walk off, but was halted by a call from Kyle.

"Dame Vanessa… is your sister here?"

"Regretfully, no. She had business to attend to. She did say she would try to make it for the last day, though."

"I see. Well, if she doesn't show up, help we wish Syrene well."

"That I will. Fare you well, Sir Kyle."

* * *

"Tana?" She heard the call from behind her. Setting down her quill pen, she stood and turned.

"Yes, Ephraim?" She asked uncertainly.

Her husband was standing there, a somewhat sheepish look on his face. "Tana, I… look, I know you've been feeling neglected these past few weeks. It was… I was just caught up in the rush of preparations. I know you did your best to help, and I… I never really got around to thanking you – _really_ thanking you – for it."

"Ephraim…" She trailed off. She'd never thought he'd actually noticed her resentment. She'd tried to hide it as best as possible… but apparently her husband knew her better than she assumed. "I… I'm sorry too. I know what these Balls are like, and I know you had to stretch yourself ragged trying to fix everything up. I should have been more supportive. I should have tried to understand how you felt better. I-"

"Should have, should have." Ephraim's gentle, reassuring voice flowed over hers' as he stepped forward. Lightly grasping her hands, he raised it and held it close to his chest. "What say you to a week-long getaway when all the fuss has died down? I'm sure Eirika wouldn't mind running the country for a few days. We could go to Frelia, visit the seaside villages, dine on the seafood you love so much…"

Tana could feel a smile on her face that refused to go away. "Promise?" She whispered.

"Promise." He replied. Then, he leaned in closer… closer…

"A-_hem_."

Both Ephraim and Tana's eyes widened at this, and they leaned around (well, Tana leaned around. Ephraim had to turn to look behind him) to see Innes standing by the doorway, arms folded, and tapping his foot.

"Ah, Innes! You're… here early!" When in doubt, state the painfully obvious.

Innes gave Ephraim a curt nod before turning to Tana. "Has he been mistreating you since I was here last?" He asked, leaving no doubt about the identity of 'he'.

"What? Innes, what are you-"

"Answer the question."

"No!"

"Uh-hm. Has been neglecting you?"

"No!"

"Has he been providing you with adequate nutrition to keep you comfortable?"

"Ye – _es_!" She bit out, somehow managing to turn her affirmative remark into a two syllable word.

Innes didn't seem the slightest bit deterred. Moving down his list – _list?_ He brought a freaking _list_? – he continued. "Has he been asking you to perform any acts that go beyond what you are comfortable –"

"**NO!**" Tana fairly bellowed. "What on Magvel are you doing, brother? Have you lost it completely?"

Innes' eyes widened slightly at this unexpected outburst, but he shot back just as fast. "I was _trying_ to ensure that you are being well looked after, and not being taken advantage of by Ephraim! Why are you so defensive? Has he-"

"I am 'defensive', as you put it, because you are just plain _rude_! Innes, you have no idea how much Ephraim cares about me, so what makes you think you have any right to just waltz in here and start asking questions, that incidentally, are demeaning to the very man standing not half a meter away from you, as if he was treating me like a piece of… of property!"

Innes sucked in air, and for a second Tana fancied she was going to be on the receiving end of a tirade herself, but Innes simply wheeled around and left the room, slamming the door shut on the way out.

"Oh, Ephraim, I'm so sorry." Tana blurted out as soon as Innes had left. The King of Renais gave a tired sigh.

"Don't be, Tana. Innes will be Innes, and I believe that was his… rather unique way of expressing his concern about you."

"…I wish you two – that all of us – could get along better."

"So do I, but wishes do naught for the future unless it can be translated into action."

They were suddenly interrupted by the blast of a trumpet. "Oh, blast." Ephraim muttered. "It's time for the ceremonial rehearsal. Tana, how do I look?"

"Good enough." She said with a wry smile.

"Great." He was halfway out the door when he turned and winked at her. "Remember, it's a date."

She winked back. "Yeah. It is."

* * *

Several hours later…

The nobles, most of which were escorted by what appeared to be an unnecessarily large entourage of servants and troops, had begun arriving in full force. Forde stood to attention as he watched convoy after convoy passed after him, while the announcer of ceremonies announced the name and home country of each visiting dignitary.

"Lord Thistleburder of the Theocracy of Rausten! The Lady Edinsworth from the Aristocracy of Carcino! The-"

About the only thing more colourful than their names were the bright (and in his opinion garishly) decorated costumes the nobles wore. The seemed to follow a general rule of fashion that the brighter it glittered, the better it must look.

No one among the Renais knights was looking forward to the weekend, of that Forde could be sure.

(X)

Two hours later…

The ballroom was already pretty much jam-packed by the time Ephraim managed to squeeze his way inside. Most of the dignitaries were already conversing with each other with the sort of mannerism that implied 'I'd rather ingest dog feces than converse with you' while they expounded on how wonderful it was to see you again.

Having changed into a rather more elegant (and uncomfortable) ensemble, he put on his best smile, and headed over to the nearest of the nobles.

"Greetings, Lady Hibran. It is an honour for us all at castle Renais that you should be here." He stated as formally as he could manage.

"Oh… ah, yes. You're King Ephraim, right?"

"Right." Ephraim said, hoping he didn't appear too chagrined. He didn't really expect much from these dignitaries, but couldn't they at least have known who he was?

"Right. Well, I wish to tell you that I think you've quite simply done a _splendid_ job on these hallways. What material did you use to get such a high quality finish?"

"Er…" Ephraim began. "I'm afraid that's outside my area of expertise. You'll have to get the information from the people actually involved in the architectural line of business."

"I see. Of course." Unless Ephraim was far mistaken, the noblewoman's expression was one of contempt. Which was almost never a good thing. What, should he have memorized the number of tiles used to cover the ceiling of the ballroom too?

The King was getting a rather bad premonition about how the rest of the night was going to turn out…

* * *

Torches had been placed at regular intervals along the outer wall of Castle Renais. It was a routine, everyday thing, seeing as it provided illumination for the great stone bastion. There was nothing particularly special about the torches, nor the soldiers assigned to guard them.

What _was_ special, however, was the fact that for the first time in recent memory, the torches proved to be completely, utterly, unnecessary.

L'Arachel, princess of Rausten, had arrived. And this not being a secretive mission of traveling the land to vanquish evil, she had arrived in _style_.

A massive float pulled by two dozen horses; with torches that blazed so bright it was obvious to all and sundry that they had been created through magical fires. The brilliant light spilled down on the rather large contingent of Rausten Knights.

Occupying the ziggurat shaped float was Dozla, standing near the bottom, and raising arms to waves greetings to all familiar faces he could see from the castle walls. Sitting next to him was Rennac, face buried in hands, and in all likelihood absolutely mortified by the enormous self-indulgence of the princess.

The princess herself was perched atop the highest tier of the float, upon a gleaming white throne. Raising an arm, she waved cheerfully to Forde, whose mouth was currently hanging open.

There was complete silence among the gatekeepers as the massive contraption slowly rumbled it's way into the castle courtyard, whereupon L'Arachel, fully decked out in Rausten's finest wear, waved a cheery goodbye to the knights as she descended the float and entered the castle proper.

A rookie knight – Ian was his name – was among the first to break the silence.

"You traveled with her?"

Forde nodded, jaw still slack.

"Wow, lucky you. She's a real looker, ain't she?"

Forde blinked, then rapidly increased the distance between him and Ian.

(X)

Ephraim was this close to losing it entirely and throttling the lord in front of him. The man hadn't bothered to return Ephraim's greeting, but had instead started off on a long harangue on the faults in the decorations of the castle. The lord – Grado born by his accent – seemed to be working under the assumption that every single thing in this place that disagreed with him had been put there solely to spite him.

"And those carpets! Far be it for me to criticize your choice, milord, but the colour obviously does not go with the wood flooring! And the material! You had a whole host of fine fabrics to choose from, and yet you go for Almam wool? Preposterous! I'll have you know that at my manor, we only use the finest…"

Trying to signal frantically while keeping it low key at the same time, Ephraim managed to attract the attention of General Seth. Making his best 'Help me' face he could manage, he was relieved to see the Silver Knight nod his understanding and walk towards him.

"… while, of course, we all have our own tastes in design, I simply cannot comprehend why you would prefer those paintings to be hung over the fireplace, when situating them over the doorway would have heightened the effect much better! In fact, I –"

"Excuse me, Lord Harstein." Seth said calmly. "But there are urgent issues for the King to deal with right now."

"Hm? What? Ah, all right. Well, take my advice, milord. You'll be pleasantly surprised." Finished, that man vanished back into the crowds.

Ephraim grabbed Seth by the collar and yanked him close. "Seth, you _have_ to tell me. You're the only one I know that was around long enough to know these things. How did my father _survive_ these sort of things?"

Seth shrugged. "I believe the late King Fado endured such meetings through copious ingestion of alcohol."

"I don't drink, Seth. You know that."

"Well, yes. I was only informing you of how your father dealt with it."

Ephraim nodded and sighed. "I'm going to go sit down somewhere and look like I'm busy. Hopefully that should cut down interaction between me and them to a minimum."

"… I'm sorry, milord, but this is your first public event with you as king. It would be in the country's best interests if you made yourself known to these nobles. I assume you have a speech ready?"

"Well, yes. But-"

"You should begin soon, then."

* * *

Tana was currently talking to a noblelady whose interests seemed limited entirely to her wardrobe. In fact, it appeared that the entire reason she had attended this ball was to ascertain what was and was not in 'vogue' this season. The Queen was trying gamely to keep up with her endless babble on trinkets, dress shades, and 'cuts', but it was a losing battle.

Then there was a loud _thump!_ from the far end of the room. Looking behind her, he saw Ephraim standing there nervously. Oh, right. The speech.

More and more heads were turning to regard the King of Renais, whom Tana could never remember looking as frightened as he did now.

His gaze swept the room, as if trying to find some anchor or support from which he could draw strength. It finally landed on Tana, who mouthed 'You can do it!'.

_Thanks._ She could almost hear the words as if they had been spoken audibly.

Seemingly summoning up new courage, he began to speak to the all-but-silent hall.

He spoke of the devastation the war had wreaked upon the continent. He spoke of how friend had turned against friend, family against family. He spoke of crushed lives, shattered dreams, ruined nations.

And he spoke of a hope that he refused to let die. A hope that the continent would rise from the ashes of the tragedy, forge closer bonds, and achieve a truly lasting peace.

As he ended his speech with a simple 'thank you', there was scattered applause. Not enough to be considered 'riotous', and yet not so few that it would overly embarrass Ephraim. Clearly the majority of the dignitaries were still trying to figure out just how the new king would seek to allow or squash their current way of living.

Tana quickly pushed her way to Ephraim as he stepped down and back into the crowd. "Good speech. Nice and short."

"Thanks, Tana." Ephraim said with a sigh. "But tomorrow's when the real negotiations begin. I just hope we can convince them to part with their money."

"It'll be alright." She assured him.

"Yeah." He gave her a shaky smile. "I guess."

* * *

Several hours later…

"You said you wanted to see me, milord?"

"Yes, Franz." Ephraim glanced up from behind his desk. It was now several hours after the King's speech. Most of the nobles had been shown the way to their guest quarters and for the first time since dinner, there was relative peace in the castle. "Come in."

The young knight took several hesitant steps forward. Ephraim pulled out his request form and placed in on the table. "Franz… you know that Sunday is the last day of the ball, and it is also the day where the most serious negotiations over the new peace settlements take place. Now, granted that you _have_ been promised a day off, and it _is_ Valentine's Day then, why can't you take it tomorrow like all the others?"

Franz swallowed hard. "With… with all due respect, Lord Ephraim, I don't believe you'd understand or appreciate it if I told you."

The king raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps not, but if you _don't_ tell me, my chances of you ever getting that holiday is pretty much nonexistent."

"… Alright, milord." Franz finally managed. "It's like this…"

* * *

By the time he had finished detailing just what he planned to do on that day, he could see King Ephraim hiding a smile. He had no idea whether or not that was a good sign.

Then the King let out a sigh. "Yet another instance where personal interests and professional demands clash. Franz, you _know_ we're already shortchanged in manpower as is, don't you?"

"Well, yes." The knight acknowledged. "But is there really no time to spare at all, your Highness?"

Ephraim was silent for a moment. "…Would you agree to a compromise, Franz?"

"… Such as?" He said, forgetting to address the King properly. Not that Ephraim appeared to have noticed.

"Well, the ballroom dancing takes place from early afternoon to the early evening. That's when they'll be spread out the most, and that's when we'll need you on guard duty the most. Now, the negotiations proper start after the evening meal, and then the majority of these nobles should be gathered in the throne room. Aside from standard guard post areas, we should need significantly less manpower to cover the throne room itself. Thus we can release you of duty for that day after your evening meal. And Dame Amelia too, because apparently that's what you asked for. Anyway, based on what you've told me, you're only really going to need the nighttime, right?"

"Yes, your highness." Franz nodded. "So, ah… after dinner, then."

Ephraim nodded, and scrawled 'Approved' over Franz's request form. "Elsewhile, get some rest. Tomorrows going to be as taxing as today was, if not more."

* * *

The next day…

Eirika sat in the corner of the room, trying to stay awake as she watched the dancers swirl around the ballroom floor. A series of vents covered with wet cloth cooled the air in the area, lowering the temperature somewhat.

Eirika was no great lover of dances – neither was Ephraim, for that matter, but apparently he had picked up some skills in order to please Tana – and watching them, especially amateurish ones, wasn't doing much to change her opinion.

Closing her eyes, she wondered if falling asleep right now would reflect badly on Renais as a whole. Probably so, unfortunately.

"Lady Eirika." The voice jolted her out of her reverie. Glancing up, she noted General Seth looking at her from the entrance of the room. Standing, she walked over to him.

"The lady Polarra is unhappy with her current accommodations. She says she wants a room that doesn't have a window situated in the direction of the rising sun. The Lord Elmridge believes his room is too small for someone of his standing, and therefore requests a move to a bigger suite. Also, the twin lords Rachus and Alchun are complaining about a lack of attention paid to their needs."

"Alright." Eirika mumbled as she rubbed her forehead wearily. "Let's go look into them, shall we?"

"…" Seth merely nodded slightly as the two of them set out.

* * *

Innes sat staring into his glass morosely, occasionally muttering an expletive concerning Ephraim. He had traveled all this way here mostly to check on his sister, only to find that she apparently viewed him as 'meddling'. Why couldn't he ever catch a break? Ephraim had beaten him consistently in almost any activity not related to archery, then Ephraim had fallen in love with Tana, and, infinitely more infuriating, Tana had fallen in love with Ephraim (although if he were to be honest with himself, she had always had a slight crush on him.), and now she viewed him as an outsider.

Sighing, he sank his head down lower.

"Oh, it's the Frelian prince! Innes, wasn't it?"

He managed to raise his head enough to glance at the person who had made this remark. Pale green hair, cheerful personality, that voice.

"L'Arachel." He said curtly.

"Why are you so gloomy? It is a glorious day, when all the countries can come together to forge terms for peace! Should you not be rejoicing at the very thought of it? Ah, Innes, perhaps it's trouble in your home country? Bandits, perhaps? You know, one time I ran into a group of bandits as I was setting out on a journey. Dozla wanted to thrash the lot of them, but I spoke to them for an hour, and convinced them of joining the side of righteousness! Ah, it was indeed a wonderful victory for the forces of the light!"

Innes gave a muffled groan and sank his head lower onto the table, hoping the Rausten princess would take the hint and go away. Suffice it to say, she remained completely oblivious. As usual.

* * *

They had settled the issues of the housing for the weekend, and now the knight and his princess were walking down the hallway, an awkward silence between them. They continued in this manner for several more minutes, until Eirika felt as if she would burst if this carried on for a moment longer.

"Seth, stop." She said. The Silver Knight instantly halted, and turned to face her.

"This is getting ridiculous." She started. "Look, either we can patch this up, or you can refuse to talk to me ever again. I won't mind… too much. Just… just _stop_ with this cordiality and false pretenses! It's driving me out of my mind!"

Seth stood silent for a long moment. Then finally, he spoke. "Lady Eirika. I have told you this before. It is improper for a member of the nobility to show inordinate favour to any of her knights. And it is also inordinate for a knight to allow personal feelings to get in the way of their duty."

"I know that!" She fairly exploded. "Just – look, are you willing to forgive me or not? I know all that stuff about knights and her princesses marrying are fairy tales of a bygone romantic era, but can you _please_ forgive me? Even if you don't want to think so, such chinks in our relationship _is_ affecting how you perform as a knight."

Seth was silent again. Then, "I forgive you. You did that in my best interests. For that, I thank you, milady."

She gave a tired sigh. "I'm going to have to be thankful with that, aren't I?" She said with a smile that held no trace of humour in it.

Seth nodded, and looked all the grimmer for it.

* * *

That evening…

"So… what do you think?" Amelia questioned rhetorically as she watched the nobles debating from the vantage point in the hall. Assigned, along with Franz, to stand guard at the main entrance of the room, she and Franz were busy taking turns peeping through the keyhole.

"I dunno. After a war like that one, I can only hope the nobles have enough sense in them to start talking seriously about permanent peace settlements. Even if we can't prevent a war from ever happening again, we can at least set up safeguards for it."

"…Yeah." Amelia was silent for a while, then spoke. "Franz… do you ever wonder what it would have been like if the war had never broken out?"

Franz didn't reply, so Amelia continued. "They'd probably never have accepted me into the army, and you'd have no reason to leave Renais. So we'd probably never have met. I'd probably have remained in Silva, while you'd still be training in the Knights of Renais."

"Do you think you would have been happier?" Franz asked sincerely. Amelia's eyes narrowed as she tried to think about what life would have been.

"I… was happy there." She finally concluded. "The life wasn't simple, but everyone there was a friend. They always had a ready smile and a good joke for the telling." She paused, then continued. "But here… the work's harder, sure. But I've learnt, and I've grown, and if I ever feel lonely, I know I can turn to you." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and noted he was serious now, all smiles gone. "I think… all things considered, I'm happier here than I would've been at the village."

"That's good." Franz smiled now. "I'm glad I met you too."

They spent the next few minutes in silence, not saying, not contemplating, just enjoying the company of the other.

* * *

"Well, I'm certain I could stand to donate a fairly large surplus of our funds to the peasants, your highness, but it's been said that charity works both ways. I agree with that, and I need to ask – can we be certain that our acts of generosity can be rewarded?"

L'Arachel raised her hand to speak. "You are Baron Zwimmerlark of Rausten, are you not? Well, as for all donations provided by dignitaries of Rausten, your names will be given top standing for prime choices in location and festivities. We can also facilitate greater ease in your projects, and, depending on the amount donated, we can help ensure that your name will be forever recorded in the annals. I'm sure most of you don't expect monetary donations to be repaid in kind – that would simply defeat the purpose. Therefore…"

Ephraim steadily continued to tune the discussion out. He'd said his piece, and now it was up to the nobles to decide what to do with it.

Still, things were looking much better than he had expected. A fair number of them had already pledged funding and foodstuffs to the impoverished peasants of the continent – the backbone of the economy. Maybe they weren't all the greedy, supercilious dotards he had made them out to be…

"Alright, agreed. Prince Ephraim, have you anymore settlements to discuss?"

Snapped out of his train out thought but keeping enough composure to let his surprise show, Ephraim shook his head. "No, and before we halt for the night, I wish to thank all of you who've pledged funds and resources towards rebuilding our lands. With the support of you all, I believe the dream of a unified Magvel will one day be a reality. Thank you, and may the Eternal watch over you as you rest."

As the rest of the nobles dispersed, and got into gossipy conversation or headed back to their quarters, Ephraim noted that Innes hung back for a moment, almost looking like he wanted to talk to Ephraim. Then apparently he thought the better of it, and left the room.

Shrugging, Ephraim walked over to L'Arachel. "L'Arachel. I'm glad you could make it, and I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to formally welcome you last night."

"Oh, think nothing of it, Ephraim! It was a pleasure to attend!"

"Thank you. Speaking of which, is Lord Joshua coming?"

"What? Oh, no. He's King, you see. Has to run the whole of Jehanna now. He's sent several ambassadors, but… himself, he's trying to get used to the courtly life."

Ephraim smiled as he pictured his old red-haired ally. "Living in a palace must be a great change from gambling dens and mercenary hideouts." He opined.

"No doubt. Well, Ephraim, I feel I really need a rest to keep up my energy. Tomorrow is going to be yet another day of strenuous wrangling. Fare you well."

"Fare you well."

* * *

"Excuse me, has a blue-haired youth requested to see me lately?"

"Um… no." The soldier on guard replied. "It would have been recorded down if he had. Why?"

"Oh… nothing." Franz sighed. "As you were." As the soldier nodded and returned to his post, Franz scratched at his head, and stared into the gloom with worried, impatient eyes.

* * *

The next day…

"Tana."

Tana closed her eyes and groaned silently before turning around. "Yes, brother?" She asked, a trifle wearily.

Innes said nothing for a moment. As a whole, Tana got the impression that Innes looked slightly awkward, as if he weren't sure of himself. That was certainly new. Innes _always_ appeared confident in himself.

But before Tana could really get around to figuring out what was wrong, Innes had stepped forward and… _begun stroking her face?_

Tana practically jumped a foot backwards. "What are you doing?" She demanded.

For a second Tana caught a flash of indignant fire in Innes' eyes, but that quickly collapsed away into seeming weariness. "Oh, I give up." He said as he threw his hands into the air. "You tell me, Tana. You always complain to Eirika – don't think I don't know – that you want a closer relationship with me. Yet everytime I try to look to your safety you get incensed and snap at me, or flat out disobey me. And now I've tried to imitate Ephraim, whom you are apparently in love with, and you act like I'm possessed or something!"

Tana blinked, stunned by this unexpected outburst. "You… I… but, stroking my face?" She finally sputtered.

"I talked to Eirika." He said sourly. "She told me that's what Ephraim did all the time."

The incredulity of the situation hit Tana right then, and she tried to hold in a giggle. She failed.

"What's so funny?" Innes snapped.

"Hehe… n-nothing." She stammered, trying to hold in the dam of laughter. The longer she tried, the worse it got, and she was finally let loose, laughing like an insane hyena.

She tried to stop, knowing her brother would feel insulted by this, and in the end it just served to make it worse. When at long last the flood of guffaws subsided, Innes was watching her with a stormy expression that said 'This had better be good.'

"I repeat." He said calmly. "What's. So. Funny."

"I-it's just… Innes, you… stroking my face… it might work with Eirika and Ephraim, but coming from you…"

"…Are you saying people aren't used to me displaying public affection?"

"No. Well, yes. Innes, I know I always say I want a relationship with you that's as strong as Eirika's with Ephraim. But that doesn't mean I want a carbon copy clone of what _they_ have!" She took a deep breath. "Look, Innes. I know, and you probably _should_ know, that your way of demonstrating concern is somewhat… brusque. I understand that, and I may not always be happy with that, but… I can respect that." She paused. "Although that list of your on Friday _was_ out of line." A smile tugged at the corners of her face. "At least I can always count on you to look out for me."

"Not always." Came the reply. "And not forever. You're the queen of Renais now. You're going to have to depend on the husband of yours."

"He has a name."

"…You're going to have to depend on Ephraim. There. I said it. Happy?"

"Quite." Her smile widened. "Now, I believe the dances start soon. Would you care to accompany your sister for a waltz around the dance floor?"

"It's a pointless exercise."

Tana raised an eyebrow.

"…Alright, alright…"

* * *

Franz glanced in Forde's room. "Hey, brother. What are you doing?"

"Franz? Oh, hi. Just… writing a note to Vanessa."

"What? Why? She's right here in this castle"

"How about you don't question what I do, and I won't question what you do? That sound fair?"

"…Is it a love note?"

"Out. Now."

Franz shut the door behind him, then continued on his way. He had duty to do before the evening meal, and –

"Franz!" Came the shout. An instant later Colm ran up, panting, and clutching a small package in his hand.

"_There_ you are." He said. "What happened? I thought you'd said you'd be back yesterday."

"It's not _my_ fault a carriage got a broken wheel, okay? Here. That's what you asked for."

"Done according to the specifications on the paper?"

"Of course. I made sure of it myself."

"Thanks, Colm. I owe you one."

The good-natured thief grinned. "Careful when you say that – might come back to haunt you."

"Maybe, maybe not. I've got guard duty lined up, so…"

"Say no more, I'm off. Good luck with you and Amelia, Franz!"

"Yeah, thanks."

* * *

Later that night…

Amelia let out a tiny sigh as she pulled her tunic over her head. These past few days had been rather exhausting, and she'd be glad for the break immediately after tonight.

A soft knock sounded on the door. "Are you decent?" Came Franz's voice.

"Depends on your definition of it." She called back.

"I'm taking that as a yes." The door swung open and Franz walked in. Amelia quickly noted he wasn't wearing armour. Odd. Wasn't he supposed to be on duty as well?

"Franz, what-" She was cut off as he held up a form, grinning shyly.

Quietly taking the form from him, she quickly scanned through the contents. Finally, she glanced up. "A day off for me too?" She questioned.

"Night off, actually. Some terms were… altered."

"But what-?"

He smiled. "Just follow me, and you'll see."

She frowned quizzically. "Am I obliged to?"

"No, but I'd be very happy if you did."

"Hmm…" She mock-pondered it for a couple of seconds, a smile on her face. "Well, alright." She finally said, alluding to the time they had met almost a year ago. "You seem sincere. I'll trust you, Franz."

* * *

The meeting was going badly for Ephraim, Innes observed.

Of course, this had been anticipated by him. Brought up since young to learn how to deal with political intrigues, he was fleetingly aware that as a youth Ephraim had devoted nearly all of his time to the lance, neglecting palace studies. Well, at least one more area that he had beat Ephraim in.

The nobles would seemingly make concessions first, by their wording would always be so convoluted that at any next meet sessions, they could end up reinterpreting it so that they would gain the most honours or acknowledgments while sacrificing the smallest possible amount of money or resources.

He'd been aware of all this, and had been contemplating telling Ephraim about it the other night, but he'd figured that it would be a better learning experience for the new King to learn about political backstabbing and power-mongering on a firsthand basis. It wasn't as if Innes hadn't figured out the tricks of their trade by now.

Innes had a tendency to pride himself as being a rather rational person. While he may have despised Ephraim, he knew his rival was good at heart, and was currently looking out for the best interests of the common folk. Innes was probably going to have to pull him out of the pit he'd dug himself…

"Look," Ephraim stated hotly. "Just last night I had your agreement that you would provide the Southern regions of Grado with medical aid."

"No, the agreement was merely 'resources'. Your highness, if what I provided was dependant on your interpretation of what I promised, then where would I be now?"

"Yes!" Another voice chimed in. "Also, your appeal for aid for the peasants of the Renais and Grado border, particularly Serafew, was rather poorly worded. I cannot tell if…"

"…could see how one could choose to interpret it that way. It's that sort of diversity that makes life interesting. But that wasn't how I meant it at all…"

And so it continued, an ever-increasing cacophony of voices that grew ever louder. Innes noted that Ephraim appeared to be praying for the earth to open up and swallow him. Or, preferably, them. As much as he enjoyed watching Ephraim squirm, there were more important things at stake here."

"**_ENOUGH!"_** He bellowed decisively. The entire room became silent as a graveyard in an instant.

Slowly, deliberately, Innes stood. Walking to the forefront of the room, he indicated the Ephraim should step back, which the King did, albeit with a perplexed expression on his face.

Turning back to face the crowd, he spoke in a low, measured tone. "I don't care how the hell you wish to interpret your own agreements. It's all the same to me – they're not worth the paper they're printed on. However, that's sidestepping the issue. You _will_ pay what we want, _when_ we want, and for as _long_ as we want you to. Do I make myself clear?"

"You can't do that!" Came an outraged voice from the back. "The king cannot legally demand money from the nobles who own land!"

Instantly a chorus of agreements floated up while Innes turned slightly. "Does it really say that in the Terms?" He asked, 'Terms' being the operative word for whatever rules had be drafted up for everyone, including the monarch, to live by.

"Yes" Ephraim said sheepishly. Innes nodded, and returned to the crowd.

"Silence." He called calmly, but with a deathly chill to his tone. It worked – the crowd calmed down considerably, although he detected an rather marked increase in the number of glares his way.

"You Renaitian nobles can count yourself lucky – we can't legally demand reparations from you. Frelians, however…" He brandished a tightly-rolled scroll of paper, bearing the emblem of Frelia on its seal. "We can ask as much as we want from the lot of you. This is the official seal of my father, king of Frelia. If you don't wish to be taxed out of house and home, I suggest you get around to loosening the purse-strings of your more stingy colleagues from the other countries."

"Yes! And Rausten too!" L'Arachel had come to the forefront as well, bearing the Pontifex's signet ring. "In the name of the divine good, nobles of Rausten are hereby required to give what they owe the land!"

There was a stunned silence for about a minute, then a long outburst of anger.

"Anyone who feels unhappy with the situation can feel free to leave." Innes calmly stated. "Just remember – if you belong in a territory which demands unconditional surrender of goods when necessary, you can be expecting a visit soon."

About three quarters of the nobles stood and stormed out of the room, the primary remainder being those who had been upfront about what they were willing to give. Innes noted a couple of Jehannan dignitaries in the back sharing a good laugh – a good story to tell Joshua, and he'd probably end up sending a few messages about reparations himself when this was all over.

Ephraim approached, wiping his brow. "I thought I was a goner back there. Thanks for saving me, Innes, L'Arachel."

"Don't thank me. Thank my father. He knows how their greedy minds work, and he taught me."

"…Won't this make you unpopular when you take office, though?"

Innes waved it away. "Overthrow can be plotted by nobles, but depends on the support of the peasants. Can you think of a single type of common folk that won't adore us when they hear of this? They dislike the nobles even more than we do."

"Indeed… indeed." Noticing the remaining nobles in the room, he strode up the speaker's platform again. "Those of you that remain, I thank you for your patience. Suffice it to say we should go significantly easier on you once we've noted down your names."

There was light chuckle for a moment.

"Well, I think we've dealt with all that needs to be dealt with anyway. Feel free to remain and enjoy yourself for one last night. Thank you."

* * *

"Well, that was… unorthodox." Seth commented calmly.

"You liked it, and you know it." Eirika said offhandedly.

"… It was rather unexpected of Innes to behave that way."

"Yeah… who'd have thought he'd have it in him?"

"Mm. Prince Innes is courageous, inventive, and a powerful warrior."

"…You're not trying to get me to like him, are you?"

"To what purpose?"

"Eirika!" Ephraim walked over to the both of them. "General Seth." He glanced at the two of them for a couple of minutes. "Have you…"

"We've known, Ephraim." Eirika sighed. "We've always known since the War."

"… Well, then, only one question need be asked. Why aren't you two kissing?"

"Your highness, it cannot be seen for a knight to love his lady, nor a lady to display favouritism towards any particular knight. And knights are never to marry into higher society – it has been this way since the days of the Sacred Stones."

"Stuff tradition." Ephraim said easily. "The Terms say I can't demand reparations. They say nothing about knights and ladies marrying."

"Your highness, do not tempt me."

"Oh, this is getting ridiculous. Are you going to do it, or do you want me to pull rank on you, 'General'?"

"Your highness, nothing you can say will cause me to break the oaths I've sworn to this country. I have pledged to put the well-being of Renais first in my mind, and romances would only serve to detract from that."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this." Ephraim muttered. "Eirika, do you tell me you agree with him?"

"Brother, it's… nevermind. I can live with this, Ephraim. It just wasn't meant to be."

Ephraim turned to look at first his General, then his sister. Shaking his head, he turned and headed back to what remained of the crowd.

"Well, that's that." Eirika said glumly.

* * *

Stepping up onto the speaker's rise, Ephraim cleared his throat. "Ahem, ahem. If I could just have your attention for a minute, please."

The remaining dignitaries turned to face him, while Innes and L'Arachel glanced quizzically in his direction.

"I have a story to tell you. A story of courage and valour, of oaths and vows, a story of forbidden love."

"Brother! What on Magvel are you doing!"

"Will all of you please remain silent until I've completed my narrative." Ephraim said cheerfully. "There was once a princess of a fair green country. And there was her trusted knight, a steel warrior of great renown. And it just so happened that one faithful day, their country was attacked by another country they had long held as dear allies…"

* * *

"The lance blow that was meant for her, he took. Despite grievous wounds, he held her close to him, charging through enemy lines in an effort to keep his princess safe…"

* * *

"And yet, over time, as he watched over her, she seemingly became _more_ than a just princess in his charge. And yet how could he let it be so? For he was a knight, and she his lady. Such a thing was unheard of!"

* * *

"And to this day, their love has yet to be known. They sat like patience on the monument, smiling at grief. For though they walk side by side to this day, an impossible, impassable barrier separates them." Ephraim trailed off. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Eirika, seemingly paralyzed.

There was dead silence in the hall for several long moments. Then a snort of laughter. An aged dignitaries with a rather robust figure slapped his knees and chortled again. "A thing unheard of indeed! Why, we'd let _peasants_ marry into nobility if they should catch the eye of any lord or lady – why not the knights, eh? They fight and die for us in times of war, least we could do is not keep 'em trapped in times of peace. Who's with me on this?" He roared as he shot to his feet. He'd obviously had a few too many, but Ephraim could afford to let that slide for now.

"I am!" L'Arachel said triumphantly as she punched her fist in the air.

"Gwah ha ha!" Dozla bellowed. "A worthy cause, eh, Rennac?" He said as he thumped the 'merchant' on the back.

"Ow! Ergh… fine, I support it." Rennac said sulkily lest he be the victim of another 'Dozla thump'.

"I'm for it!" Tana cheered from across the hall.

Across the hall, more and more nobles, their liberal feelings helped largely by liberal amounts of good food and drink, were proclaiming their support for such a cause.

Whistling to himself, Ephraim hopped down the platform, and headed towards his mortified sister.

* * *

She knew she should have left. She should have run from the room the instant she heard Ephraim speaking. But in some sick, twisted daze of fascination, she had kept listening and watching until the whole thing was over. Beside her, Seth was seemingly affected, but it was probably a product of his knightly training that he was able to keep his emotions in check. She saw only the barest of twitches on his face.

Ephraim had by now made his way over. "There. Nobles aren't against, royalty apparently has no qualms about it, brothers probably aren't going to go into homicidal rages at the thought of it. Any other excuses?"

"Ephraim…" Eirika said in a slow, measured way. "I am going to _strangle_ the life out of you."

"Wait until after the wedding, would you? I want to see my sister decked out in a traditional Renaitian wedding gown before I pass on."

She settled for clocking him in the eye.

"Ow." He mumbled. Seeing as Seth had still made no move, he turned to him, half-annoyed. "What else do you want me to do? I know you two love each other, and apparently the two of you know it as well. You bring in tradition, so I got it scrapped, and approved by at least two other ruling members. What else?"

Seth still gave no reply. He only turned to look at Eirika, and for a moment she saw pure unadulterated _longing_ in them – for something he thought he could never have. She could almost envision him taking a battering ram to his traditions – but no, he was backing away again, retreating into the persona of General Seth, the Silver Knight.

Ephraim apparently noticed this too. "…Right. I didn't want to do this, but here goes." He straightened up to his full height, pointed at General Seth, and said in as imperial a tone as he could muster. "General Seth, as reigning king over the monarchy of Renais, to whom you are a knight sworn to obey until I release you from my command, I hereby _order_ you to marry my sister. So there."

"…" An internal battle seemed to warring inside the General. He swallowed once, twice, opened his mouth as if to speak, closed it again… and suddenly his body seemingly relaxed. The battle was over. Eirika reached for his hand, suddenly feeling quite sure that he would not push it away.

"Right. Now that that's settled, shall we? The night is still young, as they say." Her brother declared amiably. And together, the three of them ventured into thick of the party, to be greeted by cheers from Tana, Forde, Kyle, Vanessa, L'Arachel, Dozla, and nods from Rennac and Innes.

Her hand fitting comfortably into his, she smiled up at her knight in shining armour, and for the first time she could remember, he smiled back.

* * *

"I'm still not sure why you decided to bring me up here." Amelia said as she glanced around the balcony. "I mean, sure, the stars are beautiful and all, but…"

"Amelia." Franz said. "Could you come sit here?"

Complying readily, she walked over to the stone bench, and settled herself beside him.

"I have something for you, it being Valentine's Day." He said softly. "Please don't say anything until you've tried it."

Reaching into a small brown packet, he heard her gasp drew out a long silver chain. The necklace glinted in the cold light of the moon, the jewels glowing soft blues and reds as they danced in the starlight.

"A… a starstone necklace?" She whispered. "But… but Starstone's only found in-"

"In Grado, I know. In the mines near your hometown, specifically. I had to ask Colm to help me get it for you. I thought… I thought it'd be a good reminder of your home."

"Franz…" She admired the necklace carefully – it's delicate beauty… the masterfully crafted links that formed the chain. "It's beautiful. I… I'll cherish it."

"That's good to hear." He smiled. "Here, let me help you put it on."

She turned around and bent her neck, enough so that Franz could thread it around her chin easily. "Amelia…" He began carefully as he clasped the necklace in place. "Could I ask you a question?"

"Yes?"

"Are we… are we an 'us'?"

"Huh?" She half-twisted to look him in the eye.

Franz looked rather nervous - unsure of himself. "What I mean is… Amelia, is there something _more_ to us? Are just friends, or do we have a relationship, or… or are all these the products of my mind deluding itself?"

"Franz…" She said softly. "I… I don't know if there _is_ anything more than that. There might have been, but, time passed, and… I… I just don't know."

Franz's face was painfully close to her, so close she could see her reflection in his eyes. "Do you _want_ there to be?" He asked.

Her eyes became hooded as she recalled the times they had spent together. Their friendly rivalry, always trying to keep up with each other's improvements, the time they'd spent an entire night doing nothing but forming new constellations in the stars, the countless times they'd saved each other from imminent death, and most of all, the time she'd ran into his arms, feeling it to be the safest place in the world at that instant. And she knew there was only one answer.

"Yes." She whispered. "Yes, I want there to be more. I want it more than anything else in the world."

All was silent as their lips met, the mutual explosion of emotion and sensation coursing powerfully through the both of them. Then, slowly, he pulled away, looking at her with love in his eyes, the same gentle smile she knew so well.

"I love you."

Nothing else was said. Nothing else was needed.

Then Amelia fingered her necklace, a smile coming to her face. "Do you know the legend of the starstone?"

"…No, can't say I have."

"If two people make a promise while clasping the starstone in their palms under the stars, it can never be broken. The promise, I mean."

The smile on Franz's face grew, and he slowly reached over, holding the starstone in his palms. A moment later Amelia's hands joined him as she marveled at how they fit so well together.

And under the stars, a promise was made. Not a word was spoken, but the both knew what the other had promised, for they had vowed the same thing. Word's were not needed. Their silent promise was enough.

After all, it's the thought that counts.

* * *

Man, talk about your deadlines…

I'm not going to pretend that part of the Seth X Eirika portions wasn't inspired by Feonyx's 'Symmetry'. It's a great piece of work, and I recommend you all read it.

To those that think this chapter in overtly long, you should have seen what I left out. (No, you really shouldn't.)

This story ended up being rather different from what I first envisioned. I still like it. It's just… different. Oh, well.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Please review!

* * *

Fin. 


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